1. Academic Validation
  2. ZHX2 emerges as a negative regulator of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation during acute liver injury

ZHX2 emerges as a negative regulator of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation during acute liver injury

  • Nat Commun. 2023 Nov 18;14(1):7527. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43439-0.
Yankun Zhang 1 Yuchen Fan 2 Huili Hu 3 Xiaohui Zhang 3 Zehua Wang 1 Zhuanchang Wu 1 Liyuan Wang 1 Xiangguo Yu 1 Xiaojia Song 1 Peng Xiang 1 Xiaodong Zhang 1 Tixiao Wang 1 Siyu Tan 1 Chunyang Li 1 4 Lifen Gao 1 Xiaohong Liang 1 Shuijie Li 5 Nailin Li 6 Xuetian Yue 7 8 Chunhong Ma 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo Medical College of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
  • 2 Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
  • 3 Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
  • 4 Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
  • 5 College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
  • 6 Department of Medicine-Solna, Cardiovascular Medicine Unit, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 7 Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo Medical College of Shandong University, Jinan, China. yuexu@sdu.edu.cn.
  • 8 Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China. yuexu@sdu.edu.cn.
  • 9 Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo Medical College of Shandong University, Jinan, China. machunhong@sdu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Mitochondria dysfunction contributes to acute liver injuries, and mitochondrial regulators, such as PGC-1α and MCJ, affect liver regeneration. Therefore, identification of mitochondrial modulators may pave the way for developing therapeutic strategies. Here, ZHX2 is identified as a mitochondrial regulator during acute liver injury. ZHX2 both transcriptionally inhibits expression of several mitochondrial electron transport chain genes and decreases PGC-1α stability, leading to reduction of mitochondrial mass and OXPHOS. Loss of Zhx2 promotes liver recovery by increasing mitochondrial OXPHOS in mice with partial hepatectomy or CCl4-induced liver injury, and inhibition of PGC-1α or electron transport chain abolishes these effects. Notably, ZHX2 expression is higher in liver tissues from patients with drug-induced liver injury and is negatively correlated with mitochondrial mass marker TOM20. Delivery of shRNA targeting Zhx2 effectively protects mice from CCl4-induced liver injury. Together, our data clarify ZHX2 as a negative regulator of mitochondrial OXPHOS and a potential target for developing strategies for improving liver recovery after acute injuries.

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